Did they ever go the Masterpiece route with Soundwave? Was it cool? I'm not interested in a remake, but an improved model.

Shell,They just announced a masterpiece edition of Soundwave recently. He comes with Ravage and Laserbeak I believe. And they plan on doing Rumble, Frenzy, and Buzzsaw I believe and maybe Ratbat. Can't remember about the last one.

Found Ravage / Rumble and Frenzy / Ratbat. I saw one Soundwave left but didn't pick him up and when I went back he was gone. To be honest he's less of a priority because I already have both commemorative editions Hasbro put out a couple of years ago but I'll get him for the cool action feature for the smaller characters.

Okay, I'm strongly considering selling my Universe figures and slowly purchase the Henkei versions. The thing is, the Henkei versions are so expensive (average $100 a piece), it will take me much longer to rebuild my collection to the size it is now, if I replace the Hasbro versions. The thing that makes me so uneasy, is that I've spent so much time building my (even if moderate) TF collection that it will dwindle down to pretty much nothing until I am able to replace them. And who knows how long that will be!

See previous collection here:

This is something I've been considering for a while, but never had the gonads to do. I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that the additional cost and hassle wasn't worth it. But, as I look at so many of the Henkei versions, I then look at my Hasbro versions, and I just feel an overwhelming disappointment. Some figures are nearly identical, but for the rest, I truly feel that the Henkei versions are worth it, but I'm still apprehensive about taking such a huge chunk out of my collection in the meantime. Anyone else ever run across this issue?

Then there's all the third party stuff I'm dying for (of which, I currently only own the Fansproject trailer), and I don't even want to begin to think about what all that jazz is going to cost me (or the anxiety I am going to feel, being unable to achieve scale perfection--looking at you, Megatron.

_________________"...To rejoice at the sight of my superhero action figures is to live in a shrine of fictive meaning festooned with idols and icons of the gods of imagination." -Dr. Robert M. Price

My recommendation is if you're willing to pay close to a hundred a pop for old Henkeis, just skip up the chain and start collecting Masterpieces. Takara is really starting to pump them out, with Sideswipe/Red Alert at the beginning of the year and Prowl/Smokescreen coming out this summer.

However, if you're like me with fingers in many lines, I don't think I could justify it.

Plus, I primarily only collect the bad guys, so there's no "gotta get 'em all" mentality.

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from, Shellhead. I do have a lot of different collections. Mainly: Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Transformers, TMNT, Ghostbusters, Marvel, DC, and Star Trek. Of course, there are a ton of sub-collections within each of those areas, and then smaller, more easily capped collections like Dick Tracy, Bill & Ted, and Indiana Jones. I also collect original trilogy, DC, Marvel, and TMNT Lego as well as KRE-O Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Star Trek, when they come out (though my building toys collection is still very much in startup mode).

Fortunately, with all the different lines I collect, I don't really have a "gotta get 'em all" mindset. I am very specific and focused on what I want with each collection. I'm all about having a "balanced representation," if you will. I which characters, on which teams, in which eras I want in my various collections. I know what specific figures I would like to have carded, because of what they represent, either nostalgically or in toy heritage. Where I run into trouble, is occasionally, I have a tough time deciding whether or not to collect a certain scale or line. It largely depends on whether or not I can have a good representation of the property within the line. So, I'm not really a "completist" as much as I am a "representationist."

I have a friend who is a fellow collector and he does things like making his own shoddy customs, putting his vintage G.I. Joes with his 25th style Joes, and his collection is so random and sparse, I can't stand it. That's not the type of collector I am or strive to become. I'm not saying that you or anyone else here is that kind of collector--and even if they were, it's about what makes you happy with your collection... that type of collecting just isn't for me. But, I mention this because it got me thinking: Am I a "haver," or am I a collector? Sure, I have a solid array of Transformers, among other collections, but am I satisfied with the representation of my current collection? And, if I'm being honest with myself, I have to say, "no." Though, as I said, I'm a representationist, so I don't have to have six different versions of Ironhide, or Soundwave. Maybe one or two iconic representations of each character, if striking differences warrant owning an additional version. Though, this is where I run into trouble, because with lines like War for/Fall of Cyberton, there are fantastic character designs that differ from G1 representations, but also may fit in nicely with a classics collection (which is where my WFC Soudnwave and Megatron are currently). But, if Soundwave is released as a voyager and ends up being only one of a handful of Voyager figures produced, what good does that do me? Will I have enough voyager figures in the line to mix in with deluxe class versions, and therefore obtain a good representation said line? Will I be forced to continue intermixing various lines and classes, creating a stew of figures that never quite satisfies me? Do I rely more on third party companies? My goal with TF is to have solid representations of key characters in as close to "correct scale" (already a relative term when it comes to Transformers), as possible. It's hard to know which figures, in which lines, in which scales to put with which collection, on which shelf. Though, I can definitely say, other than Transformers, I typically don't have this much angst when it comes to a line I am collecting.

So, now that I've made a short story long... I think the real root of my problem, is the frustration with collecting Transformers altogether, regarding scale. So, if that's the foundation I'm working from, another decision, such as whether or not to replace Hasbro with Henkei just adds to that frustration.

I still don't think I'm anywhere near finding an answer here--just digging myself a bigger hole!

_________________"...To rejoice at the sight of my superhero action figures is to live in a shrine of fictive meaning festooned with idols and icons of the gods of imagination." -Dr. Robert M. Price